Tried buttercream with salted butter instead of unsalted for a birthday cake last week

I was out of unsalted butter and figured salt is salt, how bad could it be. The frosting came out greasy and separated, took three tries to get it back together with powdered sugar. Have any of you ever made that swap and actually had it work?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_taylor18d ago

Salted butter is a MISTAKE for buttercream, I learned that the hard way. You have to cut the salt in the recipe by a good amount, like use 1/2 teaspoon less salt than normal. The real trick is to use European style salted butter, it has less water content so it doesn't get greasy as fast. Also let your butter sit out for EXACTLY 45 minutes, no more, no less. If it's too soft that's when the separation happens. Last time I did it on purpose I added a splash of heavy cream to help keep the emulsion stable. It worked but I still prefer unsalted for control.

the_taylor18d ago

My first time making buttercream I used salted butter and accidentally turned a birthday cake into what basically tasted like a salt lick. I was so proud of myself for "saving money" by not buying unsalted, and my family was too nice to tell me it was awful until years later. Now I just keep two pounds of unsalted in the freezer at all times like some sort of butter hoarder.